2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix: Verstappen Doubles Up at Imola and Red Bull Score a 1-2

The 2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was held at Imola on 24 April 2022, and it was the first Grand Prix weekend of the season to use the sprint format. Max Verstappen won the race for Red Bull, with his teammate Sergio Perez second and Lando Norris third for McLaren. The result was Red Bull's first 1-2 finish since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix, and it came in front of the Ferrari fans who had hoped for more.

Who won the 2022 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen won the race from pole, having also taken the sprint from the front on the Saturday. He set the fastest lap as well, and the win completed his second career grand slam. Sergio Perez took second for Red Bull, and Lando Norris finished third, which was McLaren's only podium of the season.

The result gave Red Bull Racing its first one-two since the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix. Under the 2022 rules the fastest qualifier takes pole, so Verstappen's Friday time gave him pole regardless of the sprint.

For Ferrari the weekend was a disappointment. Charles Leclerc finished sixth after a late mistake, and his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. retired on the first lap after a collision with Daniel Ricciardo at turn 1. It was the only race of 2022 in which a driver from outside the top three constructors reached the podium.

A wet start, a record for red flags in qualifying and a home-soil race that Max Verstappen controlled from pole.

What was the championship picture before Imola?

Leclerc had 71 points after Australia, 34 clear of Russell, with Sainz a further four points back. In the Constructors' table Ferrari led, with Red Bull a further 10 points behind Mercedes. The track also had a moved DRS detection point, which altered where drivers could open a gap.

The entry list was unchanged, and no stand-in drivers were used. Pirelli brought the C2, C3 and C4 compounds, which it labelled hard, medium and soft.

The track had also been changed. The DRS detection point was moved further back, to a position 385 metres (1,263 ft) before turn 17. That change mattered for the sprint and for the race, because it altered where drivers could open a gap on the straight.

How did qualifying end in five red flags?

Qualifying was scheduled to last one hour, starting at 17:00 local time. Under the 2022 rules the fastest qualifier became the pole-sitter regardless of the sprint, which removed the sprint-based pole title used in 2021. The first part was red-flagged with 12 minutes left after Alexander Albon's brakes caught fire at turn 14, because of an incorrect switch setting.

Only ten drivers had set times before the red flag, which left the track congested. Albon, Nicholas Latifi, Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were eliminated. In the second part Carlos Sainz Jr. spun at turn 18 and hit the outside barrier. His time was fast enough to reach the third part, but his crash prevented him from taking part, and he started tenth.

Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu, Mick Schumacher, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton failed to reach the final part. for the first time since the 2012 Japanese race, a Mercedes failed to reach the final part.

In the third part there were three more red flags, bringing the total to five, which was a new record. Kevin Magnussen spun at turn 12, and Valtteri Bottas pulled off at turn 16 with three minutes left. Verstappen was on pace for pole, had to slow for yellow flags, and still beat Leclerc by 0.7 seconds before the red flag stopped Leclerc's lap.

Norris then spun at turn 12 with less than a minute remaining, which ended the session early. Verstappen was fastest, Leclerc second and Norris third. Magnussen, driving for Haas, was fourth, which was the best qualifying result in the history of a team that had not qualified higher than 14th in 2021.

How did the sprint go?

The sprint began at 16:30 local time on 23 April, covering 21 laps. Unlike the 2021 format, the 2022 rules awarded points to the first eight drivers, and the sprint continued to decide the grid for the race. Verstappen had a bad start and Leclerc took the lead, with Gasly hitting Zhou at turn 9.

Leclerc pushed hard to keep Verstappen out of DRS range, but his tyres began to show graining. On lap 19 Verstappen passed him into turn 1 with DRS to take the sprint win. Perez recovered to third and Sainz to fourth. Sainz returned to second in the standings, while Verstappen rose from sixth to fifth, because both Mercedes drivers finished outside the points.

How did the race start on a wet track?

Rain had fallen in the preceding hours, and all cars on the grid started on intermediate tyres. Drivers starting on the right side of the grid had a difficult start because of a bitumen strip that had been added to cover the old starting line.

Going into turn 1 Sainz was overtaken by Norris and then hit by Daniel Ricciardo. Sainz was struck in the gravel, while Ricciardo returned to the track and pitted at the end of the lap. Mick Schumacher had a half-spin that dropped him from tenth to 17th, and his rear axle tagged the sidepod of Alonso, who retired on lap 8 after his bodywork failed.

Russell, Vettel and Stroll made good starts, with Russell sixth, Vettel ninth and Stroll eleventh. The safety car called out for the Sainz collision was withdrawn on lap 4.

Why did the tyre decisions matter so much?

With Leclerc stuck behind Norris, the two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez built a lead. Verstappen turned down a suggestion from his team to change onto dry tyres, and he kept racing on intermediates as the rest of the field did, despite reports that the track was drying.

Leclerc overtook Norris on lap 8, but by then he was 6.2 seconds behind Verstappen and 3.3 seconds behind Perez. Ricciardo pitted on lap 18 for dry medium tyres, and the rest of the field followed over the next few laps. Verstappen told his team he was ready to switch to slicks in case of a safety car, but he stayed out.

On lap 19 Perez and Russell pitted, a lap earlier than Verstappen and Leclerc. Leclerc had a successful overcut to come in front of Perez for second, but his colder tyres let Perez retake the position a few corners later, and Verstappen extended his lead to 7.5 seconds.

What happened in the closing stages?

Leclerc stayed close to Perez, who went over the grass at the chicane at turns 14 and 15 on lap 28. Leclerc closed to less than a second but could not make the overtake. The DRS was activated on lap 35, and Leclerc was then just over a second behind Perez, .

On lap 50 Leclerc pitted for soft tyres and came out fourth, behind Norris. He overtook Norris with the help of DRS by lap 51. Both Red Bulls responded to his undercut, pitting on lap 51 for Perez and lap 52 for Verstappen. Leclerc closed to within seven-tenths of Perez on lap 53.

In an attempt to get closer to Perez, Leclerc clattered the kerbs at the turn 14 and 15 chicane and spun into the outside wall on lap 54. The endplate broke, but there was no suspension damage, and he restarted after a new front wing and soft tyres were fitted in the pits. He dropped to ninth before recovering to sixth by the chequered flag.

Verstappen won ahead of Perez, Norris, Russell and Bottas. Leclerc was sixth, and Tsunoda, Vettel, Magnussen and Stroll completed the top ten. Ocon received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release, which demoted him to 14th and dropped Hamilton into 13th after the pit-lane incident.

What did the result change in the standings?

The second career grand slam was the highlight for Verstappen, who won from pole after leading each lap of the race. Leclerc's advantage was cut to 27 points after his sixth place, and he remained at the top of the table.

Leclerc's advantage in the standings was reduced from 45 points to 27. Bottas's fifth place also secured sixth in the Constructors' Championship for Alfa Romeo, which finished level on points with Aston Martin but ahead on countback.